New Sako AV, need help choosing scope and rings

Hello all, I'm 2 months into Sako rifle ownership and have been Sako obsessive since the purchase. I picked up an AV in .270 win, it shoots fantasic, looks beautiful, I absolutely love it!! It came with a scope with Leupold High Rings on it which I have taken off as I'd like something I can mount as low as possible for the best cheek welk / fit for me. I've created a serious brain cramp with my search to try and find the right combination of scope and ring height. I've found a lot of great info on this site. Rifle will primarily be used for elk and deer hunting. Here's what I've narrowed it down to so far:

Leupold Low Mounts, .234" from the base = Can fit a Leupold VX3 2.5-8x36. Other option would be Zeiss Conquest 2.5-8x36.

Sako Original Factory LOW rings, .0938" from the base. These are by far the lowest rings, not sure what size scope would fit on them, but when I placed a Leupold 2.5-8x36 on Leupold low rings, there still seemed to be room to go lower.

Conetrols? Look nice, not sure the height yet, but looks like they can go pretty low.

I've looked through a Zeiss Conquest on a cloudy day and wow was I impressed. The Leup VX3 is a great scope too, and the 2.5-8x36 is one that will fit on low mounts. Also had a chance to purchase an old Zeiss 3-9x36 Diavari made in Germany. Didn't get to look through it, but the 36mm objective would fit lows, and I even though its old, I'm guessing the optics are still top notch.

Any insight, suggestions, and opinions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I have a Sako 75 270wsm that has a leupold 3.5-10x40 on it. I bought used leupold rings on ebay, I was told they are low. (not in original package,they may be medium double ckeck the measurements) It fits perfect, I can just get a thin cloth under it for cleaning. This thing shoots great. It likes the Hornady SST 130 grain bullets. By the way hold onto your check book. I purchased my first Sako 6 months ago, and now own 4.

av270win:
I have all of the Zeiss scopes you've mentioned...I particularly like the 2.5-8x32 and the 3-9x36. They are small and balance well on my small and medium action Sako's, and don't seem to be handicapped compared to my 40mm, 44mm, and 50mm objective Zeiss's in very low light conditions. I use the Sako Opti-lock ringmounts since they are easy to mount and dismount with near zero repeatability.

Hello AV270,
I have a 1982 Mfg. West German Zeiss Diavari C, 3-9X36, that sits in Sako vintage mediums on a 1968 Mfg. Sako Mannlicher in .243. The scope will not fit on a long action Sako using vintage rings due to the scope tube length of 5", and rear ring movement limitations due to the recoil nipple. It barely fits on my medium action. Also, I don't know about the low rings but barrel clearance with the 36mm objective with mediums is only 2, maybe 3/32's of an inch. That's pretty low.
Regards, Will

Thanks for the comments. That's interesting about the rear ring movement limitations on the vintage rings. That eliminates a couple scope options if I went with Vintage rings.

While at a Bass Pro Shop a couple weeeks ago we did try laying a few scopes on the rifle with some Leupold Sako rings they had there. None of the 40mm objectives would fit with the low Leupold rings. The Sako vintage medium rings are right between the Leupold low and mediums, in my estimation from what I saw that day, I think either a Zeiss or Leupold 40mm obj. would fit on the vintage Sako mediums, barely. I'm guessing that's the lowest I could go with a 40mm objective.

When we tried the Leupold 2.5-8x36 on Leupold low rings it fit well, and looked like it even had room to go lower. There came the dilemma....Medium rings with a Zeiss Conquest or Leup VX3 with more magnification and benefits of a 40mm objective, or Low rings with a hair less magnification and smaller objective. Been trying to figure out the right combination of rings and scope since then, so really appreciate the comments.

Which scope depends in part on your expected shooting conditions. If you plan on hunting mostly in open country where shots can be long (and take advantage of the excellent long range capabilities of your .270), then you might favor the 9X or 10X scope. However, the 2.5-8X gives up very little to its larger cousins and in terms of game hunting is every bit as effective.

The most important factor is scope placement and how your head fits the stock when your eye is in place to acquire the sight picture. Almost every stock-scope combination on standard factory guns places your eye too low (scope too high). However, the Sako A-V has a fairly high comb, so if you need to use "medium" mounts to accomodate a 40mm objective you will likely still have the scope adequately low for good eye/cheek placement.

The current Leupold "medium" ringmount is actually a little lower than the original "medium" ring mount and places a 40mm scope about where it should be. As you've observed, an original Sako ringmount (1950's-1980's) is a tad lower, but will still clear a 40mm objective. The solution to the original Sako rear ring being too far aft is to simply grind the little recoil lug off, allowing you to place it as far forward as you desire. The little lug is a "belt and suspenders" approach to scope mounting and is totally unnecessary to keep the very stout Sako mounts in place. Simply torque down the clamp screws appropriately and it ain't goin' nowhere.

On the subject of scope brand selection, both Zeiss and Leupold build high quality optical instruments. I find the Leupold to have somewhat more latitude in eye placement, both fore-aft and side-to-side. This makes acquiring its sight picture somewhat faster -- an important factor when you're faced with a snap shot on running game. But many other shooters don't find the same problem with Zeiss that I do. Check out each of them and choose whichever seems to work best for you.